The Biggest Takeaway from Donald Trump’s Speech in NH

As the general election heats up, Donald Trump is kicking it into high gear. Gone are the days of his stream of consciousness speeches at his rallies, replaced with teleprompters with clear, concise speeches. What we have already seen from his past two speeches, the first last week at his golf club in Westchester, and last night in New Hampshire, are a more defined outline of his stances on political issues, and his goals once elected to office.

While Donald Trump originally planned the speech to attack Hillary Clinton, he changed the gone slightly to address the recent terrorist attack and hate crime that occurred in an Orlando nightclub. As the country recovered from a traumatic night, Trump had his chance to react in a way that would show his true colors and his feelings towards the event.

The biggest take away, and one that is largely overlooked by many media outlets, is that Donald Trump is standing with the gay community.

Now, why is this significant? Because the Republican Party does not have the best reputation amongst the gay community. This issue has been extremely divided, with someone like Senator Murkowski supporting gay marriage, and someone like Senator Ted Cruz “letting the states decide.” Trump has not been outright on his position on the issue, as he has been with a different issue like immigration. But last night, he made it very clear that he stands with the gay community, and will not allow hate crimes towards them.

While many Trump critics pointed at his speech as divisive, they may have missed the major point. Radical Islam is openly against the LGBT community and suppresses women, and although he was more aggressive towards radical Islam, it was in order to protect these groups in the United States.

Hillary Clinton made it clear in her statement that in her, the LGBT community has an “ally.” But from Trump’s speech, it appears as if he feels the same way. He went as far to say that as the terrorist chose a gay club, “It is a stike at the heart and soul of who we are as a nation.” This implied that as America is country that advocates freedom, this includes freedom to choose who you love.

That is actually a big moment for a GOP candidate, and definitely eliminates a point of attack for Democratic strategists.

Trump clearly stated: “our country stands together in solidarity with members of Orlando’s LGBT community.” This is a big moment for the Republican candidate, which was instead overshadowed by other points in his speech.

Maybe Trump is not so divisive after all, but instead, his critics manipulate his words to paint a negative picture of the candidate. He sure thinks so, which is why he continues to pull press credentials.